1

THE STORY OF CHARLES TRUMBULL HAYDEN By Ilya Berelov and Thomas Jones

ue primarily to the tireless work ethic, civic consciousness, and visionary qualities of its patriarch, Charles Trumbull Hayden, the Hayden family is inextricably linked with the early settlement and growth of Tempe, Ari-

zona. Charles T. Hayden was among the first to recognize the agricultural poten-tial of the lands surrounding Tempe Butte. He went on to prosper from and greatly contribute to the development of Tempe as a productive agricultural and commer-cial town. Arguably, Hayden’s passing in 1900 repre-sented the end of not only a great business-man and the founder of Tempe, but an im-measurably committed social activist who often placed his community before his own interests. It was perhaps this attitude that inspired the course of his son, Carl T. Hayden, who served 56 years as a Representative and Senator for the state of Arizona.

Charles Trumbull Hayden was born April 4, 1825, at Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut; his family had resided on the same piece of land since the seventeenth century. When Charles was six years old his father, Joseph, died, leaving his mother, Mary, to raise Charles alone from that point onward. Hayden received a good education and at the age of 19 he became a teacher in Caldwell, New Jersey. Later, he studied law in New York City, but had to cut his education short due to illness. He went to Old Fort Comfort in Virginia to rest and receive treatment for “lung fever.” Once recovered, Hayden made his way west and resumed teaching, begin-ning in Kentucky and afterwards, in New Al-

bany, Indiana, and finally, in St. Louis, Mis-souri.

After finishing his teaching stint in St. Louis, Hayden left teaching and moved to Wayne City, Missouri, where he worked for William G. Moore as a clerk in his store. Missouri was at the height of its boom years due to its advantageous position between the East and the opening West. Steamers and wagon trains provided the transportation to move goods from the East to Missouri and then wagon trains moved the goods to the West to supply the

ever-growing demand for goods on the frontier. It was during this time that Hayden traveled to Independence, Missouri, to work for his cousin who had a freighting business buying and transporting goods from the East that were needed out West. Merchant and Freighter to the West: 1848–1873 Having gained independence from Spanish control in 1821, Mexico sought to attract en-terprise and trade from the United States and,

D

Charles T. Hayden in the 1890s

2

over the next two decades, the Santa Fe Trail developed from the steady flow of traffic from merchants, traders, and freighters be-tween trading centers bordering the Missouri River and the previously isolated settlement of Santa Fe. Hayden saw first hand the wealth that could be earned by freighting supplies and small luxuries to New Mexico. In 1848, before his first freighting trip to Santa Fe, Hayden wrote to his mother back East and included a list of goods that he asked her to purchase and ship to him in Independence for sale in Santa Fe. This event marked the beginning of his freighting and mercantile endeavors, which would continue up until his death in 1900. Hayden left Independence for Santa Fe on July 3, 1848, and would not return until the fall. He returned to Santa Fe in 1849 with a larger train of oxen-pulled wagons full of goods enough to open a mercantile store. Initially hired as an employee in his cousin’s store, Hayden quickly progressed to partner status, and finally, bought his cousin’s freighting business and store. He stayed on in Santa Fe for 10 years, running the freighting business and periodically traveling East for additional goods. Hayden’s partner, Matthew Jones Flournoy, managed the business in In-dependence and also traveled to the East Coast to obtain new supplies when needed. Hayden also made annual trips to Chihuahua City, Mexico, from Santa Fe, traveling down the Rio Grande to the Mesilla Valley and on-ward through El Paso to Chihuahua. He en-deavored to learn the Spanish language, which enabled him to conduct business

throughout Mexico and the Territory of New Mexico.

In 1856, two years after the ratification of the Gadsden Purchase, Hayden hauled a load of merchandise to Tubac, Arizona. Increased mining activities and an American military presence were both within a few miles of Tu-

bac, making it a strategic location for selling supplies both to the miners and to the Fort Buchanan military post. To take advantage of the new market opportunity, Hayden opened a store about 10 miles south of Tubac. The close proximity of the Mexican border also allowed Hayden access to a customer base in northern Sonora. In Tubac, he formed a partnership with the notorious Palatine Robinson, an avid secessionist. Hayden soon became aware

of plans for a new stage route from Mesilla to California that would bypass Tubac, extend-ing instead through Tucson. He moved his business interests to Tucson, adding his mer-chandise to Robinson’s store there, which had been open since 1857. It would appear how-ever, that Hayden dissolved his association with Robinson by 1859. Between 1858 and 1873 Hayden made various trips between Tucson and Independence via Santa Fe to fill contracts with a variety of frontier clients. Hayden’s freighting company expanded, with wagon teams stocking goods in Independ-ence, Port Lavaca, Texas and Fort Smith, Ar-kansas. He also made purchases in San Fran-cisco, which were brought by boat to Los An-geles, San Diego, Guaymas and Port Isabel, thence by wagon to Tucson.

Young Charles T. Hayden

(Date unknown.)

3

Hayden closed his Independence store in 1860 when rumors of the impending Civil War became rampant. He returned to Santa Fe with 14 freight wagons filled with the In-dependence store goods, portions of which were then taken to his store in Tucson. Dur-ing the Civil War, Hayden’s freighting activi-ties led some Union military personnel to question his allegiance; consequently, he re-stricted his wagon teams to hauling freight for the North. The Civil War’s influence was also felt west of Texas in the New Mexico Territory, in-cluding the communities of Tubac and Tuc-son. Hayden and other merchants left Tucson in 1862 after occupation by Confederate troops, returning only after Federal control had been re-established in Tucson.

Early in 1864 the newly arrived Arizona Ter-ritorial Governor, John Nobel Goodwin, ap-pointed Charles Hayden as the first Probate Judge of the First Judicial District, which spanned the southern portion of the new terri-tory. He assumed his responsibilities on May 13, 1864, and thereafter was affectionately known by locals as Judge Hayden (even well after he had relinquished his appointed du-ties). In the course of his one year tenure as Probate Judge, Hayden helped set the tax rate for the Judicial District, served on the Board of Commissioners for Pima County, served on the planning board for the new court and jail buildings, and occupied the bench to rule on civil and criminal cases. However, given the cultural dynamics of Tucson’s population in the 1860s, he presided on only one case. “The 500 Mexicans that constituted nearly all of the population of Tucson, like the Ameri-can population upon the extreme frontier, set-tled their own disputes without the aid of courts.” Nevertheless, Hayden’s service as Probate Judge marked the beginning of what would be a continuing involvement in public service.

Hayden’s freighting business continued to grow at a good clip in the late 1860s and early 1870s, and he was able to expand his cus-tomer base and government contracts. In 1866 the army moved its Arizona Department headquarters from Tucson to Whipple Bar-racks, near Prescott. Hayden began to make regular trips from Tucson carrying grains and supplies north, and returning with lumber. On a notable freighting job, Hayden was con-tracted in 1867 by Governor Richard C. McCormick to haul the government furnish-ings and records from Prescott to Tucson when the territorial seat of government was moved south. He also expanded his freight-ing territory, which now included Fort Yuma and the mining areas in northern Arizona, of-ten using the Wickenburg route on his trips north and transporting lumber south to the Salt River and Gila area on his return trips. In the course of a decade between 1860 and 1870, Charles T. Hayden’s property value in-creased dramatically from approximately $10,000 to $25,000, with an additional $20,000 in real estate. In August 1873, Hayden began selling off his merchandise and property in Tucson. His plans for business on the Salt River, and the tragic passing of his partner in the Tucson store precipitated the decision; by December 1873 Hayden had departed Tucson to set up his merchandise store and headquarters along the south side of the Salt River. Merchant and Farmer in the Salt River Valley: 1868–1900 Charles T. Hayden first crossed through the Salt River Valley sometime between 1866 and November 1867 on a business venture to Fort Whipple via Wickenburg. He had been told that the most efficient river crossing en route to Prescott was on the Salt River "at a large and small butte near the south bank of the river, opposite some rocky hills on the north side.” This crossing was conveniently

4

located approximately three miles east of the Wickenburg to Fort McDowell Road.

As popular legend states, Hayden was on a freighting trip to Wickenburg, Prescott, and Fort Whipple, when a severe storm and sub-sequent flooding of the Salt River forced Hayden to wait several days on the south bank near what is now known as Tempe Butte. The delay gave him an opportunity to examine the surrounding land, where he envi-sioned a thriving agricultural community. He concluded that a gristmill built at the base of the butte would be an ideal location to pro-vide for an agricultural community that could thrive on the surrounding fertile lands. It is likely, however, that Hayden's intent to settle within the Salt River Valley was influ-enced by the growing settlement around the Swilling Ditch in what grew to become Phoe-nix. After reorganizing the Planters Irrigating Company as the Swilling Irrigation and Canal Company in 1867, John W. (Jack) Swilling and associates began construction of the Swilling Ditch on the north side of the Salt River, and in close vicinity to the Wicken-burg-Fort McDowell Road. By the end of July 1868, corn and other vegetables were growing well on lands fed by the Swilling Ditch. With the early success of crops in the Salt River Valley, just a few miles from the butte, it is understandable that Hayden’s en-trepreneurial mind began entertaining the pos-sibility of a gristmill. Jack Swilling—an Arizona pioneer, entrepre-neur, and prospector—was no stranger to Charles Hayden. In 1861, Swilling helped Hayden and his team during an Indian attack on one of his trains. Hayden’s freighting con-tacts in Wickenburg, Prescott, and Fort Whipple must have ensured regular contact with Swilling, who eventually settled down as Phoenix’s first citizen, postmaster, and justice of the peace. The two gentlemen also crossed paths in 1864 when Charles Hayden filed suit against William S. Grant, a U.S. Army buying

agent, in the First Judicial District court in Tucson, for failure to pay off a line of credit for goods purchased on behalf of the U.S. Army.

Specifically, Hayden was suing to attach and foreclose upon the Tucson Grist Mill that had been constructed around 1860. By this time, however (1864), the mill property was owned by Jack Swilling and James Lee who argued that their property could not be used to settle an old debt. Since no other records uncovered during the research for this project mention anything about Hayden owning the Tucson mill, it seems that Swilling and Lee prevailed in court. Ironically, Swilling and Hayden would later be in partnership with others in the construction of the Tempe Canal. A letter signed on November 17, 1870, by Hayden and others announced that Judge Hayden and his associates, constituting the Hayden Milling and Farming Company, were "claiming 10,000 inches of the waters of Salt River, and giving notice that the Company has commenced the work of constructing the ditch, etc." Swilling delivered the letter to the Prescott Arizona Miner who published it first on November 26, 1870 and again on Decem-ber 31, 1870. The announcement went on to state that Hayden had promised to have a steam thresher and his new flourmill up and running before the wheat ripened. However, he abandoned his initial water claim and partnered with Swilling and others in the formation of the Tempe Canal Com-pany, which had been formed by the amalga-mation of the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch and the Hardy Irrigation Canal Company. The first half-mile of the Tempe Canal was com-pleted in the spring of 1871. By 1873, the canal had been extended to incorporate the Kirkland-McKinney Ditch as a lateral of the Tempe Canal. This extension, as well as the original Kirkland-McKinney Ditch would be-come known as the Hayden Ditch, and pro-vided the source of motive power for the flour

5

mill until 1923 when the property was con-verted to electrical power. (The Hayden flour mill closed its doors in 1998, after more than 124 years of operation.)

Hayden’s original homestead claim was situ-ated along the west slope of Tempe Butte, which surrounded his flourmill and store. Construction of the mill’s foundations began soon after 1871, with timber freighted by Hayden from Prescott. As construction neared completion, Hayden traveled to San Francisco to acquire supplies, machinery, and, most importantly, John Sievers, a German miller, to oversee the installation of the milling equipment and mill operations. Hayden’s first adobe house was initially used as a store. Located west of the mill, his new home and store would experience a number of struc-tural modifications and building additions over the next two decades to create a court-yard layout. Water was conveyed to the com-pound with a ceramic pipe connected to the Hayden Ditch. After 1888, Hayden began to take on boarders and his home soon became a hotel. Currently, Hayden’s adobe house is situated on the west side of Mill Avenue and contains a restaurant known as Monti’s La Casa Vieja.

Before commencement of mill operations in 1874, Hayden established trading posts at Sacaton and Casa Blanca on the Gila River Indian Reservation to exchange goods for re-liable stores of wheat. He also acquired wheat from local farmers who had begun har-vesting crops under the Tempe Canal, as well

as Pima Indians settled on the north side of the Salt River opposite Tempe. He continued his freighting business, as evidenced by arti-cles appearing in the Arizona Miner during these years. Ever the entrepreneur, Hayden installed a ferry while the mill was under con-struction by stretching a cable across the Salt River from near the western base of the butte. He had the ferry built of heavy lumber suffi-ciently sturdy to transport a wagon and team of horses across the river. The ferry was

needed during times of high water when the river was not crossable by other means and provided yet another line of income for Hayden.

After opening the flourmill, Hayden was soon delivering flour to Camp Lowell, and to the Pima and Globe miners, Florence, Prescott, Mohave County, Wick-

enburg, and Ehrenberg. New establishments were opened for business in Gillette and Tip Top. The flour produced at Hayden’s Tempe mill was feted as a top-quality product. The success of the flourmill encouraged rapid ex-pansion of equipment, as well as the structure itself, and production was doubled in 1880 to keep up with demand. Hayden’s freighting contacts extended across the entire territory. In 1875, Hayden opened a store with Judge Hezekiah Brooks in Prescott, where various milled products and general merchandise were sold. On June 9, 1876, the Weekly Arizona Miner reported that 4,000 pounds of flour arrived at the store, and was sold out in 25 minutes; on July 21, 16,000 pounds were sold. By December, Judge Brooks reported an inventory of 20,000 pounds selling for $11 per hundred pounds.

La Casa Vieja in the 1880s

6

In autumn of 1877, Hayden closed the store, entrusting Judge Brooks to continue selling flour in Prescott as his agent. Other locations in the Arizona Territory where the flour was distributed included Florence, Wickenburg, Ehrenburg, mines and settlements in Mohave County, and military camps and forts in southern Arizona.

But the images of prosperity and happiness masked another side of the Hayden business, which involved the problem of credit. The decade of the 1880s was tumultuous for Char-les Hayden and his business holdings. Hay-den was in terrible financial trouble due to heavy mortgages, and was in danger of losing his business. The Arizona Gazette claimed to have seen a “statement of the business trans-acted by Peterson, Wormser & Co., the firm which has succeeded to the business of C. T. Hayden of Tempe.” It would appear that Hayden finally managed to settle his credit concerns by selling a quantity of his property in the spring of 1885. This was the first of many financial hurdles that would encumber the Hayden’s financial life in the future. De-spite these hurdles, Hayden's net worth in 1891 was estimated a $150,000, largely on the basis of his water rights in the Tempe Canal. His short-lived financial recovery came to an end with the onset of a national depression that lasted between 1893 and 1897. Hayden was forced to apply for a loan of $10,500 at the end of 1894 to improve his businesses’ cash position.

Husband and Family Man: 1876–1900 Hayden’s pioneering spirit and enterprising adventures took up most of his young adult life. At the age of 49 years, Hayden owned a successfully operating flourmill and mercan-tile business in the Salt River Valley at Hay-den’s Ferry; it was time to settle down. While on a trip to San Francisco in 1874, Hayden visited his friend, Doctor Alford, and met his future bride, Sally Calvert Davis who was then boarding with Dr. Alford and his family.

Two years after their initial meeting, on Oc-tober 4, 1876, the couple were married in Ne-vada City, California, and afterwards traveled to Hayden’s Ferry.

Together they had four children: Carl, Sallie, Mary, and Annie. Carl Trumbull Hayden was named after his father, but with a German variant suggested by Hayden’s German miller. Carl Hayden would later serve 56 years as a distinguished congressman and senator, representing the young State of Ari-zona. Sallie was a long-time member of the teaching faculty at the Normal School (now ASU). Mary (also known as Mapes), like her elder siblings, grew up in Tempe, graduated from the Tempe Normal School, and went on to receive further education at Stanford Uni-versity. Of his parenting, Bert Fireman speculated that perhaps “late parenthood gave him [a] great capacity for affection.” Sadly, the youngest daughter, Annie, died as a small child in 1885.

Hayden’s inclusive attitudes meant that he was well loved not only by his family and friends, but also, by his employees. Hayden had become a great benefactor and appeared to be enjoying life as a family man. Trips away, earlier undertaken by Hayden alone now were taken as a family. Civic Servant and Statesman 1864-1900

Outside of his business activities, Hayden was also heavily involved in the public and civic realms. He was continually involved in fur-thering the interests of his community and ensuring their well being and ability to flour-ish. He served a one-year term as the Pima County probate judge in 1864; he carried mail from Maricopa Wells to Phoenix in 1874. He also served as Grand Jury Foreman in two significant court cases. The first was in 1871 in Tucson following the Camp Grant Massa-cre when citizens responded in a vengeful vigilante action against the Apache and at-tacked a settlement at Aravaipa Creek. The

7

second was in 1879 following a double lynch-ing in Phoenix.

He was elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 1880. In his tenure as County Supervisor, he was frequently ver-bally attacked and criticized, despite the fact that he continued to work on roads and con-tributed to various county building projects, including the courthouse. He resigned his post in May 1882, citing personal business pressures. It seems to have been well known, however, that Hayden felt frustrated with other board members, who impeded his re-forms. Hayden was not always successful in politics, however. He failed to win a seat on the Territorial Council representing Gila and Maricopa Counties when he ran in 1874. Likewise, he failed to gain public support for a nomination to the Assembly before the County Democratic Convention in 1882. In 1882 he declined a nomination for Territorial Councilman by a Republican County conven-tion, which was looking for any avenue of success despite Hayden’s Democratic alle-giances. Hayden also took part in ensuring a strong educational foundation for local residents. In 1884, he helped establish School District No. 3 and was appointed a trustee; this district would later encompass the Tempe Normal School. In 1885 he generously sold 20 acres of prime land located in the Tempe agricul-tural heartland and valued at $2000 to the new teacher’s college for only $800 despite recent financial setbacks. Shortly afterwards he was elected Chairman of the Tempe Normal School, but resigned in May 1888 after help-ing form, and later, being installed as Presi-dent of the Tempe Liberal Union. He also established a public library in one room of his house that was free to anyone who could read. Hayden headed the committee that challenged James Addison Reavis’ fraudulent Peralta Land Grant claims. He was also a prominent voice in lobbying to form Butte County out of

the eastern half of Maricopa County in 1887 (although in the end, the attempt was unsuc-cessful). On two separate occasions in 1893 and 1899, he was appointed delegate to the National Irrigation Congress in Montana. He participated as an Arizona delegate to the Trans-Mississippi Congress on three separate occasions as well in 1894, 1897 and 1899.

Mormon settlement in the Salt River Valley is strongly associated with the generous spirit of Charles Hayden. He sold a half section of his land on credit to new settlers from Utah and provided them temporary employment and store credit. According to Fireman, the town of Mesa, an early Mormon settlement, was once called "Hayden" in honor of his help and encouragement in the development of their town.

At times, Hayden’s generosity to others caused himself economic hardship. For ex-ample, when natural disasters struck the small community along Salt River, Hayden burned the ledgers of his indebted customers, which later was cited as a major reason he fell on hard times. He judged others based on their behavior, not their race alone, which was a remarkable quality for the time period. Hay-den always had good relations with the Pima Indians who supplied his mill with wheat and he frequently defended them against the per-vasive racism of some of local Tempe resi-dents.

Conclusion Charles Hayden passed away on February 5, 1900. All the major and minor papers la-mented his loss from Arizona’s public sphere and "All the stores in [Tempe] were closed in respect to the deceased."

This article was adapted from a three-volume report prepared by Archaeological Consult-ing Services, Ltd. for the City of Tempe.

8

BIBLIOGRAPHY Published Works

Arizona Territorial Census 1864, First Judicial Dis-trict—Tucson. In Federal Census—Territory of New Mexico and Territory of Arizona, U.S. Sen-ate, 89th Congress, Document No. 13. Washing-ton: GPO, 1965. Pp. 61-86.

Excerpt from 1870 U.S. decennial census for Arizona Territory. In Federal Census—Territory of New Mexico and Territory of Arizona, U.S. Senate, 89th Congress, Document No. 13. Washington: GPO, 1965. Pp. 162-98.

Fireman, Bert M. Charles Trumbull Hayden, Smoke Signal No. 19. Tucson: Corral of the Westerners, 1969.

Hayden, Carl T. Charles Trumbull Hayden, Pioneer. Tucson: Arizona Historical Society, 1972.

Hayden, S., “The Haydens Came First,” Arizona Cat-tleog, (month?) 1957.

“Hayden’s Mill . . .,” anonymous article from Arizona Quarterly Illustrated, 1881. Carl Hayden Collec-tion. Tempe, AZ: Hayden Library, Arizona State University.

Neeley, Michael P., and S. M. Kwiatkowski. “Histori-cal Background for the Charles T. Hayden Black-smith and Wagon Shop and the Tempe Ca-nal/Hayden Canal.” In S. M. Kwiatkowski (ed.), The Rio Salado Parkway Realignment Project. Tempe, AZ: Archaeological Research Services, 1999. Pp. 173-82

Santa Rita Silver Mining Company, 2d Annual Report. Cincinnati: 1860.

_______, 3d Annual Report. Cincinnati: 1861. Smith, Dean. Tempe: Arizona Crossroads. Chatsworth,

CA: Windsor Publications, 1990. Tempe Canal, historical and descriptive data. Historic

American Engineering Record, No. AZ-16. San Francisco: National Park Service, 1989.

Vargas, Victoria D., et al. Hayden Flour Mill, Vol. 1: Introduction, Historical research, and Historic Ar-chitecture. Tempe, AZ: Archaeological Consulting Services, 2008.

Zarbin, Earl. Two Sides of the Salt River: Salt River Valley Canals, 1867–1902. Phoenix: Salt River project, 1997.

Manuscripts Hayden Family Papers, Arizona Collection. Tempe,

AZ: Hayden Library, Arizona State University. Carl Hayden Collection. Tempe, AZ: Hayden Library,

Arizona State University (is this the same as, or part of “Hayden Family Papers” above?).

Pima County Book of Records, Tucson: 1865.

Secretary of the Arizona Territory. Arizona Territorial Census, 1st Judicial District (ms., 1864). Phoenix: Arizona State Archives.

“Grist Mill Basis Pioneer Lawsuit . . .,” article by P. H. Hayhurst from Cross-Country News, c. 1940–1950, Warner’s Mill File. Tucson: Special Collec-tions, University of Arizona (periodical not lo-cated).

Newspapers Arizona Citizen, Tucson: 1871–1874, 1876, 1880. Arizona Daily Star, 1891, 1894. Arizona Enterprise, 1878, 1900. Arizona Gazette, Phoenix: 1881, 1882, 1884, 1885,

1897. Arizona Journal-Miner, Prescott: 1888. Arizona Sentinel, 1876. Clifton Clarion, Clifton, AZ: (date?). New Mexican, Santa Fe: 1867. Phoenix Herald, 1879, 1882, 1884, 1885, 1888, 1893. Saturday Review, Phoenix, 1895. Tempe News, Tempe, AZ: 1888, 1899. Territorial Expositor, Phoenix: 1879. Weekly Arizonan, Tubac: 1859, 1869. Weekly Arizona Miner, Prescott: 1867–1868, 1870–

1873, 1875–1879. Other Sources

Sheridan, Thomas E. “Arizona, a History.” Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1995 (and see revised edition, 2011). Several mentions of C. T. Hayden in this standard work.

Finch, L. Boyd. “Confederate Pathway to the Pacific: Major Sherod Hunter and Arizona Territory, C.S.A.” Tucson: Arizona Historical Society, 1996. P. 93.

Miller, Darlis A. “Soldiers and Settlers: Military Sup-ply in the Southwest, 1861–1885.” Albuquerque: Uni-versity of New Mexico Press, 1989. Many mentions of C. T. Hayden, especially pp. 21-22 (Union loyalty), 140 (salt supplier), and 165, 168-69, 172 (flour con-tractor).